As social media safety experts, advocates, and coaches who present to thousands of parents throughout Canada and the United States, one question we are usually asked is, “What age do you think a child should be gifted a cell phone.”, - this is especially true during the Christmas season when youth are hoping for a phone as a gift under the tree. In this podcast, we are going to provide the information that parents and caregivers need to help you make an informed decision.

Resources mentioned:

• Our Website: www.thewhitehatter.ca

• Our FREE webbook “Parenting In An Online World” https://www.thewhitehatter.ca/book-list

• Is My Child Ready For Their First Cellphone Article: https://thewhitehatter.ca/smartphones/

When we speak with students, especially those in elementary schools and middle school, about what they want to do as a career when they grow up, the two most common answers we hear are #1 “I want to be an online professional e-gamer” or #2 “I want to be a social media influencer”. On this podcast, we are going to be talking about what is the likelihood of a teen becoming a professional e-gamer or social media influencer, and what do we as parents and caregivers say and do when our kids share with us that this is what they want to do as a full time job as they get older.

Resources mentioned:

Our Website: www.thewhitehatter.ca

Our FREE webbook “Parenting In An Online World” https://www.thewhitehatter.ca/book-list

Dfwchild.com article https://dfwchild.com/how-your-kid-can-become-a-social-media-influencer/

On this podcast we are going to be talking about vaping. Although vaping is not the internet, a social media platform, or app, it definitely plays a role in today’s teen social media culture. Given this fact, and the significant medical contraindications of vaping, we wanted to dedicate this podcast to shed some light on the vaping culture. 

Resources mentioned:

Our Website: www.thewhitehatter.ca

Our FREE webbook “Parenting In An Online World” https://www.thewhitehatter.ca/book-list

Teens & Vaping Article https://thewhitehatter.ca/vaping/

Vaping Interview: https://youtu.be/krg8A2r0clg

There will always be those who will want to harvest our personal information they locate and collect online that will then be weaponized and used to their advantage.  Once this information is gathered, it can be posted publicly as a form of public shaming, or as a weapon to commit a variety of different crimes such as identity theft, mischief, criminal harassment, extortion, and several other crimes. On this month’s podcast, we want to talk about how you and your kids can increase your privacy and make your personal information less visible while online

Resources mentioned:

• Our Website: www.thewhitehatter.ca

• Our FREE webbook “Parenting In An Online World” https://www.thewhitehatter.ca/book-list

• Privacy & Security Article https://thewhitehatter.ca/digital-privacy-guide/

During our student presentations over the past year, we have noted an increase in the number of questions from both middle school and high school students about the “Dark Web”. Why is this happening? – we hypothesize that media, in all its forms, is shining a light on this part of the internet which may spark a teen’s curiosity to search it out online.  Given the mystique surrounding the Deep/Dark Web, and the fact that teens are curious about what they can find online, we thought this podcast would be important for parents to shed a light a light on the who, what, where, when, why, and how of the deep/dark web.

Resources mentioned:

• Our Website: www.thewhitehatter.ca

• Our FREE webbook “Parenting In An Online World” https://www.thewhitehatter.ca/book-list

• Video: https://www.thinkuknow.co.uk/parents/articles/dark-web-explained/

On this podcast episode, we are going to be talking about “cyberbullying” or what we like to call digital peer aggression.  This topic deserves so much attention that in episode #14 we talked about the who, what, where, when, how, and why of cyberbullying, and on this podcast episode we are going to look at what parents and schools can do to cope with this challenge.

Resources mentioned:

• Our Website: www.thewhitehatter.ca

• Our FREE webbook “Parenting In An Online World” https://www.thewhitehatter.ca/book-list

• International Journal Of Bullying Prevention:  https://link.springer.com/journal/42380/volumes-and-issues/2-4 

In this podcast episode, we are going to be talking about “cyberbullying” or what we like to call “digital peer aggression”.  This topic deserves so much attention that we are going to split it up into two podcasts, this week we are going to be talking about the who, what, where, when, how, and why of cyberbullying, and in next week’s podcast we are going to look at what parents and schools can do to cope with this challenge.

Resources mentioned:

• Our Website: www.thewhitehatter.ca

• Our FREE webbook “Parenting In An Online World” https://www.thewhitehatter.ca/book-list

• Canadian COVID bullying research https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/ab.21986  https://healthydebate.ca/2022/07/topic/pandemic-bullying/

• USA COVID bullying research https://www.edworkingpapers.com/sites/default/files/ai21-436.pdf

• University of Alberta research cyberbullying & mental health https://www.apa.org/pubs/journals/releases/dev-dev0001300.pdf

• Cyberbullying Research Center “Digital Self Harm” https://cyberbullying.org/digital-self-harm-suicide

In this podcast episode, we are going to be talking about Teen Based Digital Relationship Abuse – what is it, and why parents, caregivers, and even teens should be alive to this ever-increasing youth online challenge.

Resources mentioned:

• Our Website: www.thewhitehatter.ca

• Our FREE webbook “Parenting In An Online World” https://www.thewhitehatter.ca/book-list

• Cyberbullying Research Center Report https://cyberbullying.org/digital-dating-abuse.pdf

• PrevNet/University of Ottawa: https://bit.ly/3w2hVJM



• BC Society Of Transition Houses Resources https://bcsth.ca/teendigitaldatingviolence/

In this podcast episode, we are going to be talking about parental juvenoia, moral panic, and clickbait – what is it, and why parents and caregivers should be alive to how these topics can create false narratives specific to the emotional, psychological, physical, and social effects of social media and technology.

Resources mentioned:

• Our Website: www.thewhitehatter.ca
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• Our FREE webbook “Parenting In An Online World” https://www.thewhitehatter.ca/book-list

On this podcast we are going to talk about Discord – what are Discord servers, voice channels, Nitro, boosts, GDMs, and hubs – it’s easy to see how Discord can be overwhelming to parents and caregivers, so we are going to break it down for you, and share what we believe parents and caregivers need to know about this very popular social platform.

Resources mentioned:

• Our Website: www.thewhitehatter.ca
• 
  
• Our FREE webbook “Parenting In An Online World” https://www.thewhitehatter.ca/book-list
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• Discord Safety Page - https://discord.com/safety